October 3-5, 2019 at the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.

Earn up to 21 contact hours (including pre-conference workshops).

Senior Report: Older Americans have more options for home care, but still struggling.

The United Health Foundation has released results of a sweeping new study benchmarking the health of older adults. The America's Health Rankings® Senior Report was created in partnership with GAPNA to improve the health of America's seniors.

The data will help advanced practice nurses and other providers deliver quality care.

New for GAPNA members: MCM Education

GAPNA has partnered with a MCM Education to offer an ongoing series of CNE programs available to GAPNA members. "Diagnosing and Managing Parkinson’s Disease in Older Adults," is the latest program offered.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by both motor and nonmotor symptoms. It is diagnosed based on the presence of two of four motor symptoms including rest tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and gait imbalance...

FREE continuing education credit is available for the following session:

"Dementia Management Update"

(session captured at the GAPNA 2018 Annual Conference)

Viruses and Alzheimer’s

New Evidence Suggests Viruses May Play a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease

Analysis of large data sets from post-mortem brain samples of people with and without Alzheimer’s disease has revealed new evidence that viral species, particularly herpesviruses, may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease biology.

Reporting in a recent issue of the journal Neuron, the authors emphasize their findings do not prove viruses cause the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s. Rather, the findings show viral DNA sequences and activation of biological networks – the interrelated systems of DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites – may interact with molecular, genetic, and clinical aspects of Alzheimer’s.

The research group, which included experts from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, and Arizona State University, Phoenix, originally set out to find whether drugs used to treat other diseases can be repurposed for treating Alzheimer’s. They designed their study to map and compare biological networks underlying Alzheimer’s disease.

What they found is Alzheimer’s biology is likely impacted by a complex constellation of viral and host genetic factors, adding that they identified specific testable pathways and biological networks.

Important roles for microbes and viruses in Alzheimer’s disease have been suggested and studied for decades, the authors noted.

Since the 1980s, hundreds of reports have associated Alzheimer’s with bacteria and viruses. These studies combined suggest a viral contribution but have not explained how the connection works.

While the current findings are more specific, they do not provide evidence to change how risk and susceptibility are assessed, nor the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s, the authors said.

Rather, the research gives scientists reason to revisit the old pathogen hypothesis and will be the basis for further work that will test whether herpes virus activity is one of the causes of Alzheimer’s.